Its tempting... believe me!!!
In reality, selling Max and replacing him with an upgraded Moggie which Mrs PB will be happy to drive means we can also get rid of her modern (3000 miles in the last two years) which in turns means my pension will stretch a little further as well ! 2007 Astra anyone??
So the big question is what is Max worth (to Joe Public in reality that is)......................
I suspect you'll be able to pick up a modified one for less. That is no disrespect to 'modders' but a modified car is always to someones individual taste and (in reality) not necessarily to other peoples. In saying that mildly modified probably has more appeal, as you can always get away with certain things......
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels, now being sprayed by me, slowly......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
1952 Morris Minor MM highlight with sidevalve engine still fitted, wants work, so joins the queue for now......
Indeed... what is Max worth. Good question. My strategy will be to price him so that I stand a chance of getting back what I paid for him. A few nice looking Series 2's around the www at present including an ambitiously priced one at £13K. Max would be an absolute bargain by comparison with that one!
I'm still putting MY wish list together. For practical reasons a 'Series 5' 4-door. I'm not up to doing much work myself so any mods must already done and the car ready to use. Newton interior, servo, alternator, inertia seat belts will do me. Failing that a 'Series 3' 4-door with seat belts, alternator and servo, and I'll maybe forgo the Newton interior, which might upset Mrs PB a bit, but seatbelts and decent brakes should placate her a little. Was on holiday last week so missed out on a nice mildly modded 1967 4-door. Had all my wish list plus Midget head, disc brakes, van wheels/tyres, etched heated rear screen, extra instruments, new audio system and a fair bit more as well. Was on ebay. Went for maiden bid of £5K.
Why not have a word with the likes of Charles Wares garage? If Max is such a nice original example you may be able to 'exchange' him for one of their (subtly) upgraded series 5's. Thus saving yourself both money and time searching, plus if there's any problems you should be covered.
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels, now being sprayed by me, slowly......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
1952 Morris Minor MM highlight with sidevalve engine still fitted, wants work, so joins the queue for now......
I had considered CW and a couple other major players in the game but generally their prices are outside my budget. Besides which Mrs PB has today discovered the Wolseley 1500/Riley 1.5 and is suggesting we could afford to get one AND keep hold of Max. As we also spotted a very affordable Austin Somerset for sale at a steam fair today (eliciting the same suggestion from the good lady) its fair to say I'm getting confused!
Perhaps she's afraid of being traded in instead................
She might even be being reasonable......... no, silly thought...............
Two (or even three) classics is always better than one, if you can afford it, go for it!
Rileys and Somersets are great and variety is the spice of life for sure!
Also with the Riley 1500, I believe it was pretty much built on a Minors floorplan, so what works for a Minor could work for a Riley 1500.
Perhaps with minor adaptation (no pun intended).....................
Happy shopping! Post up some pics if you do buy one.
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels, now being sprayed by me, slowly......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
1952 Morris Minor MM highlight with sidevalve engine still fitted, wants work, so joins the queue for now......
The fact that I have permission in principle to invest in a second classic represents a major step forward. I'm probably going to look at a Somerset next week but, with other possibilities in mind too, I'm in no hurry to buy, and I might even throw a bit of money at Max to make him more saleable
I'd bet your other half won't want a Somerset if she drives one first .....
Wolseley 1500/Riley 1.5 a different matter IF you can find a genuinely good one at the right price.
Rabbitt wrote: MOJ .. sorry if I didn't get it .. but could you further explain the retaining the 803 reverse selector comment for me ?
Sorry Rabbitt, only just seen this. Liammonty has already answered this but, to be clear, without transferring the reverse selector rod from the 803 to the 948 box, there is the potential to accidentally shift into reverse gear when trying to select fourth when accelerating forward.......not something you want to do!
Sadly, despite tacit approval for another then, it sounds like this is her way of saying she doesn't like classics over a certain age and if you want the quiet life -- sell it...............
Or to put it another way, she only likes classics that fit her definition of the term (which may not be yours).........
What about his and hers then?
Say you'll keep Max for you and she can choose one (of her liking) for herself...... would that work??
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels, now being sprayed by me, slowly......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
1952 Morris Minor MM highlight with sidevalve engine still fitted, wants work, so joins the queue for now......
Always the way in our household. Simple things start getting confused and over-complicated. Still none the wiser but I believe best option will be to get Max's mechanical gremlins addressed first... as soon as I'm fit enough to tackle them
.....
